Muqarnas in the context of "Islamic architecture"

The Palatine Chapel /ˈpælətaɪn ˈtʃæpəl/ (Italian: Cappella Palatina) is the royal chapel of the Norman Palace in Palermo, Sicily. This building is a mixture of Byzantine, Norman and Fatimid architectural styles, showing the tricultural state of Sicily during the 12th century after Roger I and Robert Guiscard conquered the island.

Also referred to as a Palace church or Palace chapel, it was commissioned by Roger II of Sicily in 1132 to be built upon an older chapel (now the crypt) constructed around 1080. It took eight years to build, receiving a royal charter the same year, with the mosaics being only partially finished by 1143. The sanctuary, dedicated to Saint Peter, is reminiscent of a domed basilica. It has three apses, as is usual in Byzantine architecture, with six pointed arches (three on each side of the central nave) resting on recycled classical columns. The muqarnas ceiling of the nave and the chapel's rectilinear form show the Fatimid influence in the building's construction.

Iranian architecture or Persian architecture (Persian: معمارى ایرانی, romanized: Me'māri-e Irāni) is the architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Its history dates back to at least 5,000 BC with characteristic examples distributed over a vast area from Turkey and Iraq to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Iranian buildings vary greatly in scale and function, from vernacular architecture to monumental complexes. In addition to historic gates, palaces, and mosques, the rapid growth of cities such as the capital Tehran has brought about a wave of demolition and new construction.

According to American historian and archaeologist Arthur Pope, the supreme Iranian art, in the proper meaning of the word, has always been its architecture. The supremacy of architecture applies to both pre- and post-Islamic periods. Iranian architecture displays great variety, both structural and aesthetic, from a variety of traditions and experience. Without sudden innovations, and despite the repeated trauma of invasions and cultural shocks, it developed a recognizable style distinct from other regions of the Muslim world. Its virtues are "a marked feeling for form and scale; structural inventiveness, especially in vault and dome construction; a genius for decoration with a freedom and success not rivaled in any other architecture".

Decoration in Ottoman architecture takes on several forms, the most prominent of which include tile decoration, painted decoration, and stone carving. Beginning in the 14th century, early Ottoman decoration was largely a continuation of earlier Seljuk styles in Anatolia as well as other predominant styles of decoration found in Islamic art and architecture at the time. Over the course of the next few centuries, a distinctive Ottoman repertoire of motifs evolved, mostly floral motifs, such as rumî, hatayî, and saz styles. Calligraphic inscriptions, most characteristically in a thuluth script, were also a mainstay. From the 18th century onward, this repertoire became increasingly influenced by Western European art and architecture and went as far as directly borrowing techniques and styles from the latter.

Ottoman tiles attained a prominent role in decoration. Starting in the early 15th century, cuerda seca tiles in vivid colours were widely used in various buildings, using mostly vegetal arabesque motifs, of which the most dramatic early example is the Green Mosque and Green Tomb in Bursa (circa 1424). Various examples of tilework from this century seem to show possible Iranian influence and connections to Timurid art. A distinctive style of blue-and-white fritware, influenced by Chinese motifs and often attributed to an early stage of Iznik tilework, is evidenced by the late 15th century and characterizes the early 16th century. Iznik tiles became highly favoured during the rest of the 16th century and reached their artistic peak in the second half of the century. They featured stylized floral and vegetal motifs in blue, white, red, and green colours. The Iznik industry declined by the end of the 17th century, with production of lower-quality tiles shifting to Kütahya. In the early 18th century, a revival of tile art was attempted through the establishment of a new workshop at Tekfursaray in Istanbul, but ultimately the industry faded after this and tile decoration lost its importance.

Stucco decoration in Islamic architecture refers to carved or molded stucco and plaster. The terms "stucco" and "plaster" are used almost interchangeably in this context to denote most types of stucco or plaster decoration with slightly varying compositions. This decoration was mainly used to cover walls and surfaces and the main motifs were those predominant in Islamic art: geometric, arabesque (or vegetal), and calligraphic, as well as three-dimensional muqarnas. Plaster of gypsum composition was extremely important in Islamic architectural decoration as the relatively dry climate throughout much of the Islamic world made it easy to use this cheap and versatile material in a variety of spaces.

Stucco decoration was already used in ancient times in the region of Iran and the Greco-Roman Mediterranean. In Islamic architecture, stucco decoration appeared during the Umayyad period (late 7th–8th centuries) and underwent further innovations and generalization during the 9th century under the Abbasids in Iraq, at which point it spread further across the Islamic world and was incorporated into regional architectural styles. Examples of historic carved stucco decoration are found in Egypt, Iran, Afghanistan, and India, among other areas. It was commonly used in "Moorish" or western Islamic architecture in the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and parts of North Africa (the Maghreb), since at least the Taifa and Almoravid periods (11th–12th centuries). In the Iberian Peninsula it reached a creative pinnacle in Moorish architecture during the Nasrid dynasty (1238–1492), who built the Alhambra. Mudejar architecture also made broad use of such decoration. The Spanish term yesería is sometimes used in the context of Islamic and Mudéjar architecture in Spain.

The Registan (Uzbek: Registon) was the heart of the city of Samarkand of the Timurid Empire, now in Uzbekistan. The name Rēgistan (Persian: ریگستان) means "sandy place" in Persian. The three madrasahs of the Registan ensemble were built under the Uzbek Janid and Timurid dynasties.

The Registan was a public square, where people gathered to hear royal proclamations, heralded by blasts on enormous copper pipes called dzharchis — and a place of public executions. It is framed by three madrasahs (Islamic schools) of distinctive Islamic and Muqarnas style architecture (Arabic Muslim Style). The square was regarded as the hub of the Timurid Renaissance.

The Court of the Lions (Spanish: Patio de los Leones) or Palace of the Lions (Spanish: Palacio de los Leones) is a palace in the heart of the Alhambra, a historic citadel formed by a complex of palaces, gardens and forts in Granada, Spain. It was commissioned by the Nasrid sultan Muhammad V of the Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus. Its construction started in the second period of his reign, between 1362 and 1391 AD. Along with the Alhambra, the palace is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was minted in Spain's 2011 limited edition of €2 Commemorative Coins.

The Palace of the Lions is one of the most famous palaces in Islamic architecture and exemplifies the apogee of Nasrid architecture in Al-Andalus. The architecture of the palace presented a significant shift in the design of Nasrid palaces and introduced new trends in ornamentation. The building consists of a rectangular courtyard centered on a marble fountain with twelve sculpted lions. Four main halls surround the courtyard, along with some upper-floor rooms. Water channels connect the central fountain with smaller fountains in the four halls. The halls feature some of the most elaborate and sophisticated muqarnas vaults in the Islamic world.